Ask Leo & Lucy + Farming | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/series/ask-leo-lucy+farming
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 31 Mar 2015 23:06:36 GMT2015-03-31T23:06:36Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
How can I avoid GM food? | Lucy Sieglehttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/10/avoiding-gm-food-organic-soil-association
Call me old-fashioned, but I refuse to eat or support GM food. How can I avoid it?<br />If you have an ethical dilemma, email Lucy at <a href="mailto:lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk" title="">lucy.siegle@observer.co.uk</a><p>Old-fashioned? The environment secretary <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/24/owen-paterson-minister-gm-hype" title="">Owen Paterson</a> might call you &quot;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24515938" title="">wicked</a>&quot;, as being anti-GM is seen as being anti-science and to deny the world a solution to hunger. David Cameron, the PM, has also said we need to revisit our stance on GM. In short: we should stop biting the hand that could feed us (transgenically). Critics say this is a concerted campaign to <a href="www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/mar/09/genetically-modified-food-uk-embrace" title="">soften us up</a> until we give in to biotech corporations.</p><p>Actually GM haters in other nations look at our supermarket shelves with envy. This may not be the land of GM-free milk and honey it once was, but multinationals think there's enough of an anti-GM audience to provide products that are explicitly GM-free. &quot;<a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/10/29/diversions/117049/baskin-gmo-free-cheerios-in-europe-not-us/" title="">Want non-GMO Cheerios</a>? Move to Europe!&quot; says the headline to one US consumer piece.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/10/avoiding-gm-food-organic-soil-association">Continue reading...</a>GMFoodFood scienceScienceFarmingFood safetyEthical and green livingEnvironmentLife and styleSun, 10 Nov 2013 08:38:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/10/avoiding-gm-food-organic-soil-associationSusanne Hakuba/ObserverEthical fashionista Zoe Robinson 'wants you to embrace slow fashion but understands that this requires support'. Photograph: Susanne HakubaAlamyLucy Siegle: 'Your options are to a) move to Bhutan or b) buy only from the organic system, specifically Soil Association certified. Photograph: AlamyAlamyLucy Siegle: 'Your options are to a) move to Bhutan or b) buy only from the organic system, specifically Soil Association certified. Photograph: AlamyLucy Siegle2013-11-10T08:38:00ZWhat fruit or vegetable has the largest water footprint? | Leo Hickmanhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/06/vegetables-fruit-water-intensity-farming
Some crops require water-hungry irrigation systems to thrive, but what is the thirstiest crop of all?<p><strong>The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13639785">TV footage</a> over the past week showing farmers in Spain having to discard huge amounts of cucumbers because of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/06/e-coli-germany-bean-sprouts">false suspicions</a> relating to the <em>E coli</em> outbreak is heartbreaking. What an utter waste. But what really got to me was the thought of how much water was being wasted. Just think how much water it must take to grow a cucumber in an arid place such as Spain. Given that we are also experiencing <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/05/drought-farming-caroline-spelman-uk">drought-like conditions</a> here in parts of the UK, it left me curious to know which fruit and veg consume the most water when they are being grown?</strong></p><p><strong>T Keeble, by <a href="mailto:ask.leo.and.lucy@guardian.co.uk">email</a></strong></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/06/vegetables-fruit-water-intensity-farming">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentFoodWaterFarmingVegetablesMon, 06 Jun 2011 11:12:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/06/vegetables-fruit-water-intensity-farmingJorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty ImagesA farmer harvests cucumbers at a greenhouse in Algarrobo, near Malaga. Photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty ImagesJorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty ImagesA farmer harvests cucumbers at a greenhouse on June 1, 2011 in Algarrobo, near Malaga. Photograph: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty ImagesLeo Hickman2011-06-06T11:12:00ZCan I stop a farmer spraying pesticides close to my home? | Leo Hickmanhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/may/26/farming-pesticides-spray-neigbours-consult
Many farmers routinely spray their crops with pesticides, but can neighbours demand their concerns be considered?<p><strong>My garden backs on to a field which normally gets sprayed with pesticides from this time of year right up to harvest time. If the wind is blowing towards me, I can sometimes feel the mist land on my face which I find deeply unpleasant. I know farmers use these sprays legally, but don't I have any rights at all? Shouldn't they at least be warning me that they are about to spray the field so I know to be out that day?</strong></p><p><strong>B Collins, by <a href="mailto:ask.leo.and.lucy@guardian.co.uk">email</a></strong></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/may/26/farming-pesticides-spray-neigbours-consult">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentFarmingPesticidesThu, 26 May 2011 12:40:35 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/may/26/farming-pesticides-spray-neigbours-consultBurger/Phanie/Rex FeaturesFarmer spraying pesticides on a corn field. Photograph: Burger/Phanie/Rex FeaturesBurger/Phanie/Rex FeaturesFarmer spraying chemicals (herbicides pesticides) on corn fields. Photograph: Burger/Phanie/Rex FeaturesLeo Hickman2011-05-26T12:40:35ZHow can vegetarians avoid food grown with animal-origin fertilisers?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jan/12/vegetarians-food-animal-origin-fertiliser-vegetarian
Vegetables are often grown using 'fish, blood and bone' as a fertiliser. As a vegetarian, how can I avoid this produce?<p><strong>I have been vegetarian for many years and try to eat organic produce, if possible. I am grappling with the issue that many organic fertilisers are of animal origin and wondering if the animals that the fertilisers are derived from are of organic origin, too? Where does it start or end? I don't really want to eat food that has been grown in a way that causes harm to animals, but I realise that chemical fertilisers and pesticides are potentially damaging to me and to the environment. Help. Are fish, blood and bone fertilisers the most commonly used for growing organic vegetables, or are there other sources? (A local organic farmer tells me that she uses only horse manure and I try to buy as much veg as possible from her ... we live in France.)</strong></p><p><strong>Andrea Humphreys, by <a href="mailto:ask.leo.and.lucy@guardian.co.uk">email</a></strong></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jan/12/vegetarians-food-animal-origin-fertiliser-vegetarian">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentGardening adviceFoodVegetarianismFarmingEthical and green livingOrganicsFood & drinkWed, 12 Jan 2011 11:26:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jan/12/vegetarians-food-animal-origin-fertiliser-vegetarianGarry Gay/Getty ImagesVegetables grown using animal-origin fertilisers may be to some a sensible use of a waste product, but many vegetarians would prefer to avoid them. Photograph: Garry Gay/Getty ImagesGarry Gay/Getty ImagesAssorted vegetables and fruit Photograph: Garry Gay/Getty ImagesLeo Hickman2011-01-12T11:26:31ZCan I buy wool and be green?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/oct/10/not-easy-being-green-wool-eco-traditional-sustainable
If you're buying wool, think local…<p>Happy Wool Week. It begins tomorrow. It's too much of a stretch to say that wool is highly sustainable (there's the animal exploitation, for starters, though the industry claims excellent welfare conditions for all its 1bn sheep), but it is compostable and water resistant. The traditional production of hardy breeds of sheep on UK hill farms used to rack up the eco points – when Wensleydales and Bluefaced Leicesters munched the bracken, they stopped the land from turning to scrub and fertilised the soil. But we defected to antipodean merino and synthetics, and such herds ended up on the endangered breeds list. Then there's the price. In 1997 UK farmers could expect 93p per kg of wool as opposed to 68p per kg last year, while it costs &pound;1.20 to shear a sheep. No wonder the new farming trend is for hairless sheep. Presumably horrified by such a bald prospect, Prince Charles lent his weight to <a href="http://Campaignforwool.org" title="">Campaignforwool.org</a>. It began as a rallying cry to buy British wool but now encompasses Australian and New Zealand wool (their cheap imports are seen as part of the problem). Go indigenous: when you buy a carpet (60% of UK wool goes here), a duvet (wool is an excellent temperature regulator – see <a href="http://devonduvets.com" title="">devonduvets.com</a>), eco insulation (<a href="http://secondnatureuk.com" title="">secondnatureuk.com</a>) or innovative packaging solutions (<a href="http://woolcool.com" title="">woolcool.com</a>), remember that home-grown wool isn't just for jumpers.</p><p></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/oct/10/not-easy-being-green-wool-eco-traditional-sustainable">Continue reading...</a>Ethical and green livingEnvironmentLife and styleFarmingSat, 09 Oct 2010 23:05:21 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/oct/10/not-easy-being-green-wool-eco-traditional-sustainableLucy Siegle2010-10-09T23:05:21ZIs it time to boycott Latin American bananas?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/07/boycott-latin-american-bananas-lucy-siegle
The removal of tariffs on Latin American bananas is bad news for small-scale plantation workers<p>A few weeks ago, when I learned that the international banana wars were coming to an end after 16 long years, I put it at the top of the Green Gauge (right) in a celebratory fashion. This prompted many of you to argue that the WTO's ruling was bad – potentially catastrophic, even – for small-scale banana farmers already living in poverty.</p><p>You were right. I had failed to fully unpeel the world's longest-running international trade dispute over the world's fourth most important crop. Here's another try.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/07/boycott-latin-american-bananas-lucy-siegle">Continue reading...</a>Ethical and green livingEnvironmentLife and styleFoodFarmingFair tradeSun, 07 Feb 2010 00:05:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/feb/07/boycott-latin-american-bananas-lucy-siegleLucy Siegle2010-02-07T00:05:24ZWhat's the environmental impact of milk?http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/aug/07/milk-environmental-impact
Just how green is the white stuff?<p>In the post-war decades, the hegemony of cow juice went unchallenged. In an aptly bovine manner we drank from the cup provided by the Milk Marketing Board and others, drinking in the stuff about calcium gain and nutrients. Then came the backlash. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2003/dec/13/foodanddrink.weekend" title="an article by Anne Karpf in 2003">An article by Anne Karpf in 2003</a> started with the immortal line &quot;Does God's own PR company handle the account for milk?&quot;, before exposing alleged trumped-up health benefits, allergies, intolerances and animal exploitation.</p><p>But is the sacred cow now returning in a greener colour? Last week there was much celebrating of the fact that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/aug/07/farmers-milk-carbon-footprint" title="dairy farmers are well on the way to following the goals">dairy farmers are well on the way to meeting the goals</a> of the <a href="http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/industry/sectors/milk/supplychainforum/taskforce.htm" title="Milk Roadmap">Milk Roadmap</a> l and even ahead of environmental targets for 2010. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/aug/07/farmers-milk-carbon-footprint" title="Dairy UK announced it was chumming up with the Carbon Trust">Then Dairy UK announced it is chumming up with the Carbon Trust</a> so that in no time at all you'll be able to buy a pint with a carbon footprint label on the bottle.</p><p>Next week I'll be looking at the environmental impact of milk and asking: how green is the white stuff? Yesterday the government said that dairy producers were well ahead of schedule on 2010 targets to put farmland under environmental management schemes, and today the industry has linked up with the Carbon Trust to promise carbon footprint labels on future bottles of milk.</p><p>I'll be investigating the eco issues around dairy milk - from greenhouse gases to the ecological impact of alternatives such as soya - and I'd welcome your help. Maybe you're a dairy farmer, an expert on packaging (see Waitrose's reusable milk bags), or just someone who drinks a lot of milk. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/aug/07/milk-environmental-impact">Continue reading...</a>Ethical and green livingFoodFarmingEnvironmentCarbon footprintsGreenhouse gas emissionsThu, 13 Aug 2009 11:44:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/aug/07/milk-environmental-impactPAPints of milk. Photograph: PAPAPints of milk. Photograph: PALucy Siegle2009-08-13T11:44:00Z